Highlighting corruption, deceit and plain old incompetence in local London councils

Westminster councillor Lee Rowley brands the DfT a bunch of muppets

Westminster City Council came in for further criticism today when the Evening Standard reported on its front page that Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department for Transport (DfT) Norman Baker had labelled the council’s new extended parking charges as ‘vindictive’.

He went on to compare the council’s new proposals to introduce new Sunday and weekday evening parking charges as a war on motorists. Something which the coalition and especially some Conservatives are sensitive about now with the elections for London Mayor starting just five months after Westminster Council launch their new late night parking fees.

Norman Baker should have saved his breath, because Lee Rowley the Westminster Councillor responsible for introducing what some have called a ‘night life tax’ has no regard for what the DfT has to say. As Nutsville learnt in May 2011, when Mr Argue of the NoToMob told Rowley he thought Westminster City Council had made a “string of incompetent decisions” which cumulated in the DfT ordering Westminster Council to switch off all their fixed CCTV spy cameras and to bring them up to standard.

Councillor Lee Rowley Cabinet member for stupid statements about parking said: “The Department for Transport decided to impose a standard on cameras which was inflexible and rigid. Our cameras, put in place before that standard was set, worked perfectly well but were caught out by a technicality. To not put too fine a point on it, the Council can’t be held responsible for the DfT acting like a bunch of muppets.”

Lets all just hope that the nice Councillor Rowley’s words don’t make their way to the DfT just when he’s in enough bother over certification with the same fixed CCTV spy cameras. As he could well be marched into the head masters office to feel something ‘inflexible and rigid’ warming his nether regions quite soon.

2 Comments

E1November 17th, 2011 at 11:57 am

Rowley Rat your political ambitions are over! Look at Danny Charkley now! He is washed up and in the gutter. You stepped into his shoes but you live by the sword and you die by it. Step by and allow a decent Councillor take over that will save this City rather than kill it. Go back to your banking job, where you daily kill off our country! SHAME ON YOU ROWLEY!

DavidDecember 19th, 2011 at 6:45 am

Following the successful legal challenge, I’m amazed that Lee Rowley is still in his job at Westminster Council. In my opinion he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the Conservative party, following politics as close as I do I’ve never seen a member of the Tory party so uniformly disliked by the vast majority of Londoners, Businesses, his own political party, basically everyone he should be sucking up to. He has p****d off the Prime ministers office, Mayor Johnson with an election campaign coming up, and has worked tirelessly all year to erode the Tory vote in London. Lee, for Gods sake, your political career is surely over. Hand in the free borough wide Westminster parking permit and go back to your bank job. Oh, and I think the majority of Londoners would like you to pay back the £297,000.00 your dept spent on signage for this out of your OWN pocket and not the public purse. Disgraceful!

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